Huge update: Celestina Perez, who was found murdered in Gurdon Bill Park on June 2, 1995, has finally been tied to a suspect. Authorities say modern DNA testing on blood recovered from her underwear produced a male DNA profile, and investigators have identified Joseph James Ceravolo Jr. as the person responsible for her assault and death. The DA said the evidence establishes that Ceravolo Jr. assaulted and killed Perez, and this closes the 31-year cold case imo.
Her family deserves answers and I really hope they get them , even tho Ceravolo Jr. has been publicly identified (reports say he is deceased), it's important the investigation be laid out fully so her kids and family get justice or at least the truth about what happened w/ Celestina. If anyone has old tips or remembers anything from back then that could help investigators, please reach out to the Springfield detectives; this case went unsolved far too long and her life mattered thru it all.
Celestina Perez was a 24-year-old Hispanic mother of four who was found dead in a ravine in Gurdon Bill Park in Springfield, Massachusetts, on the afternoon of June 2, 1995. Two men walking in the park discovered her body near Genesee and Warwick streets. An autopsy determined she died from asphyxia due to manual strangulation and had additional blunt-force head injuries; the death was ruled a homicide.
Crime-scene evidence indicated a violent struggle that began near the top of the ravine and continued downhill. Blood was found on twigs, vegetation, and soil along the slope; two buttons believed torn from her blouse and a single shoe were recovered. Investigators preserved clothing and other evidence and interviewed relatives, friends, and people who had been with her, but no suspect was identified at the time.
Subsequent forensic work in 2009 produced insufficient DNA, but renewed testing after 2024 on preserved clothing developed a major male DNA profile that matched a Springfield resident who lived near the park in 1995. Independent testing on a separate stain confirmed the same profile.
If anyone knew Celestina, her movements that day, or saw someone injured near Gurdon Bill Park on June 2, 1995, please share information with investigators.
